Insurer: European floods year's costliest disaster

The Associated Press

A leading insurance company says flooding in central Europe last month caused damage totaling more than $16 billion, about a quarter of it insured - making it the year's costliest natural disaster so far.

Munich Re AG put insured losses from the flooding in Germany and several other countries at $3.9 billion. Both figures were similar to the damage caused by floods in 2002 that hit some of the same areas.

Munich Re said Tuesday that overall losses caused by natural disasters totaled a below-average $45 billion between January and June, with insured losses totaling $13 billion.

May's deadly tornadoes in Oklahoma were the second-costliest disaster in the period, causing overall losses of $3.1 billion - nearly $1.6 billion of that covered by insurance.